Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle door; and, more particularly, to an apparatus that prevents a vehicle door from opening due to impact force generated during a vehicle collision.
Description of Related Art
When a vehicle collision occurs, a vehicle door must be maintained with a locked door latch to prevent an occupant from falling out of the vehicle. In other words, although the vehicle door must be allowed to open to enable a rescue after a vehicle collision has occurred, the door latch must also be maintained in the locked state during the vehicle collision to prevent the vehicle door from inadvertently opening due to impact force and thus prevent the occupant from falling out of the vehicle.
Accordingly, conventional techniques have been developed in which a balance weight, a blocking lever or the like are connected to an exterior handle of the vehicle door to maintain the door latch in the locked state during a collision. However, the conventional techniques refer to coping with a side collision of a vehicle but are not capable of maintaining the locked state of the vehicle door during a front or rear collision.